Video: Pigs out, but Bubba might stay

Seal Beach has just banned pigs, but one not-so-little piggy might get to stay home.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to strengthen a standing ban on hogs to include all kinds, sizes and sexes of pigs. But Councilwoman Ellery Deaton gave the city's resident pig, Bubba, an escape route, asking city staff to review expanding a different ordinance that allows permits for non-domestic animals

Bubba is a 235-pound potbellied pig who has resided with Madonna and Eric Grimsley in the city for four years. Complaints from neighbors seem to have pushed the city to adopt the resolution banning all pigs.

Deaton verified that Bubba couldn’t be grandfathered in under the pig ban, and, because pigs are considered domesticated, couldn’t be permitted under a law for non-domestic animals.

“It seems odd to me that we would have a permit to keep a wild boar but not a domestic pig,” Deaton said.

City code only allows residents to keep dogs, cats, domestic birds and reptiles. It bans cattle, horses, now pigs and a few other animals by name, but allows people to apply to keep non-domestic animals if they are restrained, cared for and fed properly.

That could be the rubric applied for pet pigs and maybe other animals, Assistant City Attorney Steven Flower speculated.

Madonna Grimsley said the ruling was bittersweet. She was happy there might be a way she can legally keep her pig in the city but sad for future pig owners.

“They're denying them the opportunity of a wonderful pet,” she said.

The permitting vote will likely come at the next council meeting, on Dec. 9, three days before the ban on all pigs will go into effect.

The meeting saw nearly an hour of passionate testimony, which really kicked off when local singer Karen Hadley led the packed auditorium in an a cappella rendition of her protest song “Don't Send Bubba to Hog Heaven.” It had people in overflow seating outside Council chambers hooting.

But the vote left the crowd subdued, unsure if the ban-plus-accommodation was a victory.

Staunch Bubba supporter Shelley Littleton commended the council for judging reasonably but said she still was concerned.

“We need to make sure that this special permitting process is going to work,” Littleton said.

Grimsley’s neighbor, Nat Ferguson, and a former neighbor have come out publicly in op-eds in the local papers against keeping pigs, saying Bubba sometimes screeches and leaves foul-smelling droppings in the front yard.

Ferguson said at the meeting that he's been called names since his letter of concern was published, and he was interrupted by hecklers a few times while he was speaking.

“The last time I checked, contacting the authorities to check on the welfare of an animal that was screaming was the right thing to do,” Ferguson said. “I'm just sorry it took nearly three years from when we made our inquiry for Bubba to get the attention he deserves.”

Most locals have lined up on Bubba’s side, at least publicly. Only one other person complained about Bubba at the meeting while 21 people spoke in his favor, including the Grimsleys. More than 100 appeared at a pro-Bubba rally on Nov. 9.

Bubba's supporters tried to sway the council with everything from cute kids to reasons why pigs are cleaner than dogs.

When a former neighbor explained why Bubba's screaming and odor forced her to move, Lyssa Alston said that was impossible: She moved next door to Bubba a month ago and had only just realized he was there.

“I don't understand why somebody would go out of her way to try to take (Grimsley’s) pet away from her. To me it's just disgusting and sad,” Alston said, tearing up.

Some residents said there were more important issues for the City Council to take up, such as coyotes and people not picking up after their dogs.

Longtime resident Tamara Clark asked the council why animal control officers have been slow to respond to her requests for assistance with serious problems when Grimsley had reportedly been getting weekly visits for a code violation.

“I've had incidents where there's been injured animals, animal bites, loose dogs,” Clark said. “It takes days for me to get a response.”

Deaton, the only council member to speak on the issue, said this was a difficult dispute brought to the council by residents, not something the council sought out.

“I want to be very clear that the City Council did not start this. The City Council is trying to do the very best they can with a difficult situation that was brought to us,” she said. “We do not enforce code by having people go out and look for a problem.”

She asked both Grimsley and Ferguson if the permitting solution was agreeable. They both said yes.

Singer Hadley said Deaton handled the case well.

“I thought that's being very fair of her, to see if we can get these people to stop fighting,” Hadley said.